Alan Boyle, MSNBC
FEBRUARY 03, 2009
A treasure trove of potential new species has been uncovered in a modern-day Garden of Eden in Colombia, scientists announced Monday. They said the discoveries gave them hope that such biological frontiers could be saved from harm.
Among the 10 amphibian species that may be new to science are an orange-legged rain frog, three poison dart frogs and three transparent-skinned glass frogs.
“Without a doubt, this region is a true Noah’s Ark,” Jose Vincente Rodriguez-Mahecha, scientific director of Conservation International in Colombia, said in a news release announcing the find. “The high number of new amphibian species found is a sign of hope, even with the serious threat of extinction that this animal group faces in many other regions of the country and the world.”
The animals were cataloged during an expedition to the mountainous Tacarcura area of the Darien, near Colombia’s border with Panama. Conservation International’s experts on amphibians joined forces with bird experts from the Ecotropia Foundation, with the support of the area’s indigenous Embera community.

(Marco Rada / Conservation International-Colom) Scientists were surprised to find this Central American species of salamander (Bolitoglossa taylori) in Colombia. The country is home to over 754 species of amphibians — one of the highest in the world.